Intel formally debuts Xeon 600 processors, introduces upcoming vPro Panther Lake units — the ‘entirely fresh’ vPro system fully embraces AI

Following revealing them last month, Intel has formally introduced its Xeon 600 series of workstation processors. Formerly referred to as Granite Rapids-WS, the lineup features 11 SKUs, with five of them being offered in boxed retail packages. The processors are compatible with Intel’s refreshed vPro platform, in addition to several Panther Lake processors that have gained certification for enterprise operations using vPro.

Intel hasn’t shared new benchmarks for its Xeon 600 CPUs, still leaning on a claim of up to 61% faster multithreaded performance and up to 9% better single-threaded performance compared to last-gen Sapphire Rapids-WS chips. Reports indicate that Xeon 600 CPUs are now on sale, with costs starting at $499 and extending to $7,699. This covers OEM systems, packaged retail products, and motherboards featuring the latest W890 chipset; however, Intel states you should verify with particular sellers regarding the stock of certain SKUs.

As a recap, Xeon 600 are supported on the new W890 chipset, supporting up to 4TB of ECC memory in eight channels at up to 8000MT/s. The platform also supports up to 128 PCIe 5 lanes. For the chips themselves, they scale up to 86 scores using the Redwood Cove microarchitecture. Xeon 600 chips exclusively use the P-core design, with support for Hyper-Threading. They additionally feature Intel AMX within every core, offering compatibility for FP16 instructions to boost AI tasks, alongside AVX-512 functionality.

As a recap, Xeon 600 are supported on the new W890 chipset, supporting up to 4TB of ECC memory in eight channels at up to 8000MT/s. The platform also supports up to 128 PCIe 5 lanes. For the chips themselves, they scale up to 86 scores using the Redwood Cove microarchitecture. Xeon 600 chips exclusively use the P-core design, with support for Hyper-Threading. They additionally feature Intel AMX within every core, offering compatibility for FP16 instructions to boost AI tasks, alongside AVX-512 functionality.

In conjunction with Xeon 600, Intel is debuting Core Ultra Series 3 (formerly called Panther Lake) hardware for enterprises with vPro certification. The selection is more concise than the consumer Core Ultra Series 3 range, yet the technical details remain the same. The distinction, naturally, lies in the inclusion of Intel vPro support.

Like the client stack, Core Ultra Series 3 processors with vPro support up to 96GB of LPDDR5 memory and up to 12 PCIe 5 lanes. This SoC represents the initial application of Intel’s 18A node for the compute tile, integrating Cougar Cove P-cores alongside Darkmont E-cores. The chips also come with Intel’s latest NPU 5 AI accelerator and an Xe3 iGPU with up to 12 cores. As we’ve witnessed with hardware like the Asus Zenbook Duo, the integrated graphics are where Core Ultra Series 3 chips truly demonstrate their value, especially the X-series versions featuring the complete 12 Xe3 cores.

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You can see that from Intel’s internal benchmarks, as well. The Core Ultra X7 358H holds some victories over AMD’s competing Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 in general productivity workloads, but it runs away with graphics performance. Intel also asserts substantially better AI results within Geekbench AI 1.6. Remember, however, that Geekbench serves as a synthetic test; it isn’t an actual usage scenario.

Intel discloses details regarding the entirely new vPro framework.

Both Xeon 600 and Core Ultra Series 3 chips for business support Intel’s updated vPro platform, which includes a handful of new features. For starters, Intel is expanding what vPro covers with the vPro Certified Apps and Accessories Program. As the name suggests, Intel is working with ISVs and OEMs to validate applications and accessories for vPro use. On the application side, Intel says vPro certification means apps are “optimized for battery life and performance,” while for accessories, they’re “certified for seamless connectivity.”

Through early engagements with ISVs, Intel says it’s seen up to a 59% reduction in CPU utilization in FlexxAgent (an endpoint application for centralized IT management) with vPro optimizations, a 56% improvement in power efficiency in Riverbed Aternity (an employee management platform), and a 74% reduction in background activity in Absolute Secure Endpoint. In addition to these programs, Intel notes it maintains collaborations with ESET, Citrix, and Crowdstrike, plus several more, as well as Dell, HP, Jabra, Lenovo, and Logitech in the accessories sector.

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Also new is Intel Device IQ, which is enabled through Lakeside, Riverbed, Control Up, and Flexxible software. Intel says Device IQ “collects PC telemetry, [and] uniquely applies local AI to trigger remediation directly on the device.”

Regarding the security aspect, Intel has integrated its Total Storage Encryption (TSE) capability into vPro, along with Intel Threat Detection Technology. The latter can identify malware instantly through AI, according to Intel. On the NPU, Intel announced support for CrowdStrike Falcon Data Protection, using the onboard AI capabilities to protect sensitive data during agentic AI workloads (we’ve certainly seen those workloads go wrong in the past). Ultimately, Intel is expanding the support window for Core Ultra Series 3 devices featuring vPro to 10 years.

Intel says it has over 125 designs for Panther Lake machines that support vPro, including the usual names like Acer, Asus, Dell, and HP, alongside more commercial-focused OEMs like Fujitsu, Panasonic Connect, and Dynabook. Styles begin launching on March 31.

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